{"id":38651,"date":"2026-01-24T07:04:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/alvaro-arbeloa-lauds-jude-bellinghams-winning-spirit-as-real-madrid-gears-up-for-villarreal-showdown\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T07:04:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:04:50","slug":"alvaro-arbeloa-lauds-jude-bellinghams-winning-spirit-as-real-madrid-gears-up-for-villarreal-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/alvaro-arbeloa-lauds-jude-bellinghams-winning-spirit-as-real-madrid-gears-up-for-villarreal-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Alvaro Arbeloa Lauds Jude Bellingham’s ‘Winning Spirit’ as Real Madrid Gears Up for Villarreal Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<div class=\"Article-featuredImage\">\n    <figure class=\"img\">\n        <img class=\"Article-featuredImageImg\" alt=\"Untitled-Design-2026-01-24t121312-231.png\" src=\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/24\/2b8b34da-f464-4617-868b-7df20db32e59\/thumbnail\/770x433\/6080614696cfa5ff1d2f2803297a0f2b\/untitled-design-2026-01-24t121312-231.png\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"433\" width=\"770\"\/>\n    <\/figure>\n    <figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption MediaShortcode-figcaption--indent\">\n        <span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\">Getty Images<\/span>\n    <\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"Article-bodyContent\">\n    <p>\u00c1lvaro Arbeloa's team has had a successful week with two victories, setting the stage for an important La Liga clash against Villarreal on Saturday. They secured a 2-0 win over Levante at the Bernab\u00e9u, followed by a 6-1 defeat of AS Monaco in Madrid. The new manager faced a rocky start after the loss to Barcelona that resulted in the firing of his predecessor, Xabi Alonso, and a surprising exit from the Copa del Rey against a lower-tier team. However, Real Madrid is now just one point away from La Liga leaders Barcelona, who earned a draw with Real Sociedad last weekend. Villarreal, their next opponent, currently sits in third place.<\/p>\n\n    <figure class=\"MediaShortcode MediaShortcodeImage none large\">\n        <figcaption class=\"MediaShortcode-figcaption\">\n            <span class=\"MediaShortcode-credit\">CBS Sports<\/span>\n        <\/figcaption>\n    <\/figure>\n\n    <p>Arbeloa commented on the squad, particularly addressing Jude Bellingham's situation, who faced some criticism from home supporters last week alongside Vinicius Jr. He stated, \"I need to discuss the situation I see right now, but it\u2019s not a significant issue as it\u2019s been only a few days. He has performed excellently in both games and training. From the beginning, he demonstrated his skills, technique, leadership, and character as a player. His recent efforts truly reflect his dedication.\" Arbeloa expressed his satisfaction with Bellingham's mindset and contributions, emphasizing the attributes that make him a valuable asset for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n\n    <p>Here's what to know ahead of the match.<\/p>\n\n    <h2>How to watch Villarreal vs. Real Madrid, odds<\/h2>\n    <ul>\n        <li><strong>Date:<\/strong> Saturday, January 24th | <strong>Time:<\/strong> 3:00 PM ET<\/li>\n        <li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Ceramics Stadium -- Villarreal<\/li>\n        <li><strong>Stream:<\/strong> ESPN+<\/li>\n        <li><strong>Odds:<\/strong> Villarreal +220; Draw +275; Real Madrid +108<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n\n    <h2>Possible lineup<\/h2>\n    <p><strong>Villarreal XI:<\/strong> Lewis Junior, Pau Navarro, Juan Foyth, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona, Tajon Buchanan, Pape Gueye, Daniel Parejo, Alberto Moreiro, Gerard Moreno, Georges Micautase.<\/p>\n    <p><strong>Real Madrid XI:<\/strong> Thibaut Courtois, Federico Valverde, Raul Asensio, Dean Huis\u00e9n, Alvaro Carreras, Alda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, Franco Mastatuono, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n\n    <h2>Prediction<\/h2>\n    <p>Real Madrid are the favorites going into Saturday's match, but Villarreal's strong performances this season, especially in La Liga, should not be overlooked. <strong>Prediction:<\/strong> Real Madrid 2, Villarreal 1.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> This matchup is crucial as Real Madrid seeks to regain momentum and challenge for the top of La Liga, while Villarreal aims to maintain their position among the league’s elite. The outcome could significantly affect the title race, making it a must-watch for soccer fans everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<div class=”Article-featuredImage”> <figure class=”img”> <img class=”Article-featuredImageImg” alt=”Untitled-Design-2026-01-24t121312-231.png” src=”https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2026\/01\/24\/2b8b34da-f464-4617-868b-7df20db32e59\/thumbnail\/770×433\/6080614696cfa5ff1d2f2803297a0f2b\/untitled-design-2026-01-24t121312-231.png” loading=”lazy” height=”433″ width=”770″\/> <\/figure> <figcaption class=”MediaShortcode-figcaption MediaShortcode-figcaption–indent”> <span class=”MediaShortcode-credit”>Getty Images<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/div> <div class=”Article-bodyContent”> <p>\u00c1lvaro Arbeloa’s team has had a successful week with two victories, setting the stage for an important La Liga clash against Villarreal on Saturday. They secured a 2-0 win over Levante at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,8368,8369,40,1736,3805,941,564,46,452,1098,45,1758,5269,587],"class_list":{"0":"post-38651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-alvaro","9":"tag-arbeloa","10":"tag-bellinghams","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-gears","13":"tag-jude","14":"tag-lauds","15":"tag-madrid","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-real","18":"tag-showdown","19":"tag-soccer","20":"tag-spirit","21":"tag-villarreal","22":"tag-winning"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}